The Dervishes are serving a stadium ban by the Egyptian FA after last month's incidents in the match against Ahli. Nonetheless, they saw off the in-form cup champions at home on Saturday.

"All players had a good game and were fully focused because there was no pressure from fans," Brazilian tactician Ricardo said after the game.

"When the fans are present, players feel the pressure; especially that Ismaili are a great club with a huge fan base."

Ismaili supporters' impatient attitude was widely criticized throughout this season, which saw the team losing three times at home, out of a total of five defeats so far.

New Boys

Ricardo was satisfied with the performance of his winter signings including debutant Abdul-Hamid Sami, who replaced the unsettled Ibrahim Saied in defense.

Sami, who signed from Dakhlia in January, had a superb debut as Ismaili clinched their first home clean sheet this season.

"I am very pleased with new players like Dario Khan, Nasigba John-Jumbo and Abdul-Hamid Sami, who played his first game with us," Ricardo added.

"Sami was excellent; I think it is the first time to we see our defense well-organized like that."